Dollar General 2012 Annual Report Download - page 87

10-K
Our Competition
We operate in the basic discount consumer goods market, which is highly competitive with respect
to price, store location, merchandise quality, assortment and presentation, in-stock consistency, and
customer service. We compete with discount stores and with many other retailers, including mass
merchandise, grocery, drug, convenience, variety and other specialty stores. These other retail
companies operate stores in many of the areas where we operate, and many of them engage in
extensive advertising and marketing efforts. Our direct competitors include Family Dollar, Dollar Tree,
Fred’s, 99 Cents Only and various local, independent operators, as well as Walmart, Target, Walgreens,
CVS, and Rite Aid, among others. Certain of our competitors have greater financial, distribution,
marketing and other resources than we do.
We differentiate ourselves from other forms of retailing by offering consistently low prices in a
convenient, small-store format. We believe that our prices are competitive due in part to our low cost
operating structure and the relatively limited assortment of products offered. Purchasing large volumes
of merchandise within our focused assortment in each merchandise category allows us to keep our
average costs low, contributing to our ability to offer competitive everyday low prices to our customers.
See ‘‘—Our Business Model’’ above for further discussion of our competitive situation.
Our Employees
As of March 1, 2013, we employed approximately 90,500 full-time and part-time employees,
including divisional and regional managers, district managers, store managers, other store personnel
and distribution center and administrative personnel. We have increasingly focused on recruiting,
training, motivating and retaining employees, and we believe that the quality, performance and morale
of our employees have increased as a result. We currently are not a party to any collective bargaining
agreements.
Our Trademarks
We own marks that are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and are
protected under applicable intellectual property laws, including without limitation the trademarks
Dollar General↧, Dollar General Market↧, Clover Valley↧, DG↧, Smart & Simple↧, trueliving↧, Sweet
Smiles↧, Open Trails↧, Bobbie Brooks↧ Comfort Baytm, and Holiday Style↧, along with variations and
formatives of these trademarks as well as certain other trademarks. We attempt to obtain registration
of our trademarks whenever practicable and to pursue vigorously any infringement of those marks. Our
trademark registrations have various expiration dates; however, assuming that the trademark
registrations are properly renewed, they have a perpetual duration.
We also hold licenses to use various trademarks owned by third parties, including a license to the
Fisher Price brand for certain items of children’s clothing through December 31, 2013, and an exclusive
license to the Rexall brand through March 5, 2020.
Available Information
Our Web site address is www.dollargeneral.com. We file with or furnish to the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the ‘‘SEC’’) annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, proxy statements and annual reports to
shareholders, and, from time to time, registration statements and other documents. These documents
are available free of charge to investors on or through the Investor Information portion of our Web site
as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file them with or furnish them to the SEC. In
addition, the public may read and copy any of the materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public
Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington DC 20549. The public may obtain information on
the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC
maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other
information regarding issuers, such as Dollar General, that file electronically with the SEC. The address
of that web site is http://www.sec.gov.
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